Blood and Tears
by Ruby of Raven
Summary: Katara and Zuko have been captured and are then sold to a prison mine where their bending abilities are stripped away from them. After escaping the mine, they are pursued. They have will have to rely on each other to stay alive.Zutara.Adopted from Caeria.
1. Chapter 1: Fight or Leave

**A.N.**

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and this is but a simple fanfic inspired by a truly brilliant cartoon.

This chapter was written by Caeria, the one who started this great story that I adopted from her.

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><p><strong>Blood and Tears<strong>

**Chapter One: Fight or Leave**

Zuko hit the ground hard, the earth slamming into him with the force of hammer. Instinctually falling back on martial techniques drilled into him from the time he would walk, Zuko tried to tuck and roll his body along the force of the blow. Unfortunately, too many other blows and lack of food had weakened him to the point that even the training of the lifetime couldn't help him. He knew, even as the ground rushed up to meet him, that it was a futile exercise.

The sound of bones snapping, and the hot flare of agony that ripped across his collarbone, proved him right.

"You'll stay down, _boy_, if you know what's good for you."

Rude laughter and jeering taunts rang out around him. His vision swam, black spots crowding out his vision in his one good eye. Slowly he gathered his legs beneath him, ignoring the scrape of bare legs and knees across the sharp pieces of rock. His right arm now useless, Zuko shifted his weight to his left and pressed upwards. He was no longer sprawled across the ground but kneeling and bent over.

Without warning, a jagged shard of rock flew at him from his blind side, tearing the exposed skin across his shoulders. Zuko was too tired to even flinch at this latest pain. Staring down into the dirt beneath him, he panted, his breath causing fingers of pain across his ribs as he watched as three fat drops of blood splatter against the earth.

_Why was he here?_ He couldn't remember. He knew he had to get up. He just couldn't remember why.

Then above the sound of the laughter, he heard it - a woman's voice, pleading with him to stay down, to do what they asked. To stop fighting. He shook his head and his vision swam with the motion. Stay down. She wanted him to stay down. Why? He couldn't remember, but he knew that he couldn't do what the woman's voice asked of him.

He had to remember. The woman . . . her voice was still pleading. He could hear it, only now her pleas had changed. He could hear the fear and desperation. She was no longer pleading with him, but with the ugly voices that laughed and jeered.

"Leave him alone! You're killing him!"

_Who were they killing?_

The woman's voice mixed with the other hated voices until all that he could hear was a dull roar that filled his ears like the sound of rushing water.

_Water. He was so thirsty. When was the last time he'd had his fill of clean, fresh water? _

Water. There was something he was supposed to be remembering . . .something about water.

Beyond his sight, the woman's voice cried out in pain and frustrated rage.

He remembered. _The water girl._

Rage filled him, the anger a heat that simmered through his veins. Eyes narrowed into hate-filled slits, Zuko gathered his strength and staggered to his feet. As Zuko stood, swaying slightly, the laughter around him died.

"Let 'er go." His words were soft and slightly slurred, his split bottom lip making it difficult to speak.

The hated voice of the prisoner boss, Arun, came from his left. Him, Zuko definitely remembered. "Well, would you look at that, the Little Dragon wants to go another round."

_Little Dragon_. The taunt, even now, made him flinch. His father had called him that. He hated that name. He hated it all the more because he knew that if these Earthbender scum knew who he really was, they'd have killed him long ago.

Zuko swung around, his steps shaky, to face the voice. His vision, already bad from the day he'd received the gift of his father's displeasure, was now almost useless. The blow to the head he'd taken earlier left him with spots that danced before his one good eye. The light seemed abnormally bright, washing out the colors and bleeding them together. It didn't help that he was also seeing double.

"Let 'er go." He'd have liked to say more, but only the clenching of his teeth kept the nausea down. Although, losing his meager midday meal on Arun's shoes did have a certain appeal. Too bad he couldn't actually see those shoes.

He heard the movement of his opponent and lifted his good arm to block the blow he couldn't see. In the end, it did him no good. A ham-handed fist struck him below his upraised arm, impacting hard against ribs that could stand no more abuse. Zuko went down amidst cruel laughter and one horrified scream.

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><p>Arun laughed all the harder seeing the crumpled form of the Fire Nation troublemaker. He should have killed him when he'd first arrived. If they hadn't needed strong backs to work the mines, he would have. Those of the Fire Nation deserved no mercy. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled a small boulder from the hillside and sent it hovering over the bloodied head of the boy at his feet.<p>

Arm outstretched to hold the rock in mid-air he approached the struggling girl being held between two of his guards. Bending low, he grinned, showing broken yellow teeth. He laughed again when Katara pulled back from him in disgust. "Choice is yours, girl." He reached his other hand out and ran a dirty finger down her cheek. "You come with me to my hut tonight with no fighting, or the Little Dragon over there gets squashed." Arun turned his head and spat in the direction of Zuko before adding, "Fire Nation whore like you ought to be grateful for my interest, girl. You align yourself with me and I can keep you out of the mines."

There had been a time when Katara would have fought and raged at the implication that she was Zuko's whore. That had been over two weeks ago. Now, she just went limp, sagging into the hard hands that gripped her arms. Tears streamed down her face. Zuko had fought this man for her, though she didn't know why. She couldn't let him die, not like this.

It was over. "I'll be there tonight," she whispered.

"Knew you'd see it my way, girl," Arun smirked, confident in his victory. Another flick of his wrist sent the rock hurtling back against the hillside with an impact that Katara could feel through the soles of her bare feet.

"Let her go," Arun grunted at the men holding her.

Katara collapsed on the ground as her support was suddenly removed.

Bending down, Arun scooped up one end of six foot length of chain from where it was rested in the dirt. Fingering the thick, black iron links he swung the manacled end in a short arc. The other end was firmly attached to Katara right wrist. It was these chains that linked all the prisoners that worked the mines together. There could never be any escape with twenty prisoners tied together. Arun had removed Katara and Zuko from the chain line, and then released Zuko completely before the fight, boasting loudly that he'd wanted it to be a fair. It had been anything but fair.

Now, with cold, dispassionate eyes, Arun jerked the end of the chain he held, pulling Katara across the ground to where Zuko lay in a bloodied heap. "Can't have you running away on me now?" Snapping the manacle over Zuko's left wrist, Arun gave a sharp tug that had Katara sprawling in the dirt. The two guards laughed and Katara fought to hold back her tears.

Clapping the two guards on the back, Arun set off toward the dining tent where the guards ate, secure in his absolute power over the prisoners.

A few steps away, Arun stopped and turned back to Katara, who was still huddled in the dirt next to Zuko. "Best get the Dragon up and moving, girl. If he doesn't report to the work line by the time I finish eating -" He left the threat unfinished but the boulder imbedded in the cliff face rocked menacingly back and forth a few times before going still. Katara understood the threat all too well. When Katara didn't answer, he added with a leer, "See you tonight, girl."

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><p>Not even bothering to get to her feet, Katara crawled the remaining few feet across the ground until she reached Zuko's battered body. All the prisoners here in the mines were bruised and battered to some degree or another. If the hard work of the mining didn't beat you down, then Arun and his cronies took great pleasure in spreading as much pain and humiliation around as they could. Zuko, being a member of the hated Fire Nation, with his pride and obvious contempt for the guards, had earned more than his fair share of abuse.<p>

Katara felt a stab of guilt. This latest round of cruelty was because of her. Arun had started his harassment as the prisoners had started the early morning shift. Still groggy from days of little sleep and inadequate food, Katara had been unprepared when Arun had grabbed her from behind. At her shriek of surprise and outrage, the other prisoners in the long line waiting on the morning's thin gruel had looked up as she struggled feebly in Arun's grasp.

The faces looking back at her had been a sea of blank-eyed apathy. Any pity they felt for her was carefully concealed behind masks of indifference. Everyone there knew that to interfere on her behalf would incite the anger of Arun. No one had been willing to risk that anger except Zuko, and the Fire Nation prince didn't even like her. He blamed her, and rightly, her guilty conscience noted, for their capture and imprisonment.

Katara wiped away her tears with the heel of one grubby hand, heedless of the dirt she smeared across her face. The young prince didn't move when she touched his shoulder. For one brief, panicked moment she thought he was dead and that she was alone in this awful place. More tears, this time of relief, ran silently down her cheeks when she caught his shallow exhale in the next moment.

She didn't even bother wiping away these new tears. She'd never been much of a crier Before; Before being captured, Before being stripped of her bending abilities, her dignity and her freedom. She'd been fearless Before. She knew what fear was now in the After. Fear was seeing her brother and Aang go down beneath the onslaught of two dozen Fire Nation soldiers and being unable to help. Fear was the taste of defeat at being sold, along with Zuko, to the mine operation by an unnamed and masked firebender. Fear was knowing what was going to happen to her as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon and Arun came for her.

Fear had a new dimension now as she gazed at the still unconscious Zuko. Arun, as the guard leader, liked to linger over his breakfast. She had maybe an hour to get Zuko up and moving or he was dead. Even in the two weeks that they'd been in the camp, she'd already seen Arun kill three of the prisoners. He'd even killed one poor man as he'd stood in the long line of chained together prisoners. The guards had thought it funny to leave the dead body in shackles, pulled along by the others in the chain until the man's body had finally deteriorated enough for his arm to pull out from the shackle that held him as tightly in death as it had in life. She couldn't let Prince Zuko die, not like this, like a beaten down dog in the street. She had no doubts that the proud prince would rather die fighting and on his feet.

Was that why Zuko persisted in defying Arun, she wondered. Was Zuko looking to get himself killed in a blaze of glory as the only way out of this? Maybe that was why he'd come to her rescue. It made more sense that he had been using Arun's assault on her to give him a reason to attack, rather than just coming to her defense. Zuko, had after all, made no secret of his loathing for her. Then again, even a known enemy was better than no one at all. Zuko and Katara had history, even if that history was enmity and fighting. Katara sighed. Idle speculation would get her nowhere and her hour was slowly ticking away.

Reaching out a hand, she brushed her fingertips across the side of Zuko's skull. Beneath her fingers, the short stubble that had grown in where he normally shaved his head felt soft and silky. Quirking a small half-smile, Katara thought it was probably the only soft thing about the Fire nation prince. The smile faded thought as her fingers encountered the butchered remains of his ponytail, the hairs now only slightly longer that the stubble. Arun had cut the pony tail off on their first day in the prison camp. It had been the first fight between Arun and the guards and Zuko. It was also when Zuko had discovered that he could no longer summon his fire.

Katara trembled at the memory. It had also been the day she'd discovered that her waterbending skills had been stripped from her as well. The hadn't found out until days later how it had been done and by that point it was way too late for either of them. Camp rumor from the other prisoners said that once bending abilities had been stripped that they never came back.

She shook her head to dislodge the memories. She had to get Zuko get up and moving. "Zuko?" she said, careful not to mention his title unless she was overheard. "Wake up."

The prince didn't move. Sliding her hand down, she gentle shook his shoulder. "Zuko!" she hissed, a little more forcefully. They needed to get up, the line of prisoners would be moving soon. It was then that the obvious finally penetrated into Katara's muddled and tired mind. They were no longer in line, but only attached to each other. For the first time in weeks, a shadow of the old, defiant Katara surfaced. They were no longer attached to the line of other prisoners. The guards and other prisoners were eating. They were alone and the forest edge was within sight. Her new found fear rose up as well. No one escaped from this place except through death. She and Zuko were chained together, they'd never be able to travel fast enough to get away. They were both starved and weak and had no idea where in the four kingdoms they were beyond being somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. It was madness. It was suicide.

A burst of loud laughter came from the direction of the food tent, the guards, no doubt, tormenting someone else. Katara made her decision. If Zuko really did want to go out fighting, she was about to give him his fight.

Katara bent back to Zuko. "Zuko! Get up now! We're leaving."

_Leaving_ seemed to have been the magic word, for the young man stirred. "'Tara? Wha?" Zuko's speech was still slurred and he seemed to have a hard time focusing on her.

Feeling her precious time before Arun returned slipping away from them, Katara ignored Zuko's questions. "Can you get to your feet?" she questioned.

"'es. Leavin'?"

Offering her own shoulder, Katara tried to get Zuko to his feet. It was difficult; the young man was both heavier and taller than she was, making the lifting awkward. But with Zuko's own stubborn determination and the whispered promise of _leaving_, she soon had the two of them on their feet, though Zuko swayed alarmingly.

It was lunacy. They'd never make it.

Pointing them both towards the edge of the camp, Katara started walking, supporting a stumbling Zuko along side of her.

Maybe dying fighting was better after all.

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><p>If you didn't figure it out yet, this is a ZukoKatara fic.

**Next up**: Katara and Zuko make their escape and Arun is hot on their heels. We also learn the answers to some questions like how were Katara and Zuko captured. What happened to Aang and Sukko? How were Katara and Zuko's bending abilities stripped from them?


	2. Chapter 2: Running

**A. N.**

This chapter was written by Caeria, the original author of this whole thing!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Running<strong>

With each halting step they took away from the prison mining camp, the need to move faster beat at Katara. One dominant thought kept cadence with her heart beat and with every breath she let out through clenched teeth.

_Run . . .Run . . .Run._

A shudder wound its way up her spine as she thought of Arun and what would happen to them if they were caught.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

Zuko stumbled beside her and almost brought them both to their knees. She dug her fingers into his side where her arm wrapped around his waist, tightening her grip. She didn't look at him when a low, barely audible groan escaped his lips or when she felt the warm, wetness she knew to be blood coat her fingers. They didn't have time to stop and dress wounds.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

She'd looped the six feet of chain connecting them across their shoulders to keep from tangling around their feet. The weight of the chain seemed to grow heavier with every step they took, holding them back, slowing them down.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

Sharp edge rocks and thorny vegetation bit into the bare soles of her feet. She missed the sturdy warmth of her boots. Glancing down, she noted that she and Zuko were leaving tracks on the dirt trail they followed. No shoes and bloody feet. She had no doubt that it would make things easier for any tracking dogs to find them.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

Already she was panting hard, the weight of the chain and the struggle to keeping Zuko upright and moving draining what few reserves of strength she had left. There had been too many days of hard work, meager meals and restless, haunted sleep. Still she ran, pushing them onward with each faltering step.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

Words were gasped into her ear. "Leave me."

The words were spoken so softly that at first Katara wasn't sure she heard them. She only registered what Zuko had said, when he repeated them. This time she stumbled, the words a shock to her already overtaxed system. Putting one foot in front of the other and practically dragging Zuko along with her, Katara let the sudden anger that rose up inside of her loose. "I will not leave you," she hissed between breaths. "First of all, we are chained together still, so leaving you is not an option."

She quickened her pace, the anger fueling her onward, even as the beat in her head continued.

_Run . . . Run . . . Run_

"And . . . _huff_ . . . even . . . _huff_ . . . if . . . _huff_ . . . I . . . _huff_ . . . could, . . . _huff_ . . . I . . . _huff_ . . . wouldn't . . . _huff_ . . . leave you."

Katara stumbled again. This time Zuko caught her and brought her to a halt. The sudden stop caused the heavy chain looped over their shoulders to slide to the ground with a ringing clang that caused Katara to wince. The voice inside of her that urged to her run wailed out its protest. Urgently she pulled at him. "They will be coming soon. We need to get as far away as possible."

"Not like this. Stop. Catch your breath. We need to think, not run like scared rabbits."

Realizing that he was right, Katara fought down the urge to keep moving, the need to run still sounding loudly in her ears. Trying to focus on something else, Katara took a step away from Zuko and for the first time since they'd left the camp, she looked up into Zuko's face, and gasped. The eye with the burn scar was swollen completely shut while a long gash zig-zagged across his right temple. Blood had run down the side of his face and down onto his bare chest, leaving streaks of bright red among the dirt and mud that covered him. Where the blood had mixed with the dirt, a black crust had started to form. Zuko's split bottom lip was also swollen. More blood oozed slowly from it, running down his chin and mixing with the blood that was already splattered across his chest.

He wasn't standing completely straight either, but stood slightly hunched over with one of his arms held tightly against his ribs while the other hung limp at his side.

But that wasn't what worried her. Zuko's good eye wasn't focused on her, but somewhere over her left shoulder. The white portion of his eye was shot through with red, as if many of the blood vessels had been broken. The most worrying thing though was the size of his pupil. In the early morning sunlight, his pupil should have been contracted down to a pinprick, instead, his pupil was large, almost eclipsing the golden hue of his iris.

"Zuko, your eyes –" she began.

He cut her off, his voice harsh with his own gasps for air. "Tell me where we are."

She stiffened at his curt tone. She answered, but from her own clipped words, there was no mistaking her anger. "I took the main trail out of camp." Seeing the scowl that marked his face at her words, she added in her defense, "I know that makes it easier for them to find us, but it was also the easiest to navigate. You're too heavy for me to carry."

Zuko's head tilted slightly and he scowled, seemingly in thought. "The main trail - the same one they brought us in on?" he asked.

"Yes."

"There was a river and a waterfall. Have we passed it yet?"

Katara shook her head, and then realized he wouldn't be able to see her movement. Wondering what he was thinking, she said aloud, "No, it's still up ahead of us.

"We'll head there, then float down river."

He was insane. "The river is off the main trail. Getting there will slow us down."

Zuko snorted in disgust. "We'll never outrun them anyway, not like we are. We need to get to the river. They won't expect that. We should be able to find something – a fallen log, brush, something – that will allow us to float downriver."

Katara was staring at him in disbelief. "Are you crazy? We are weighted down with six feet of chain. We'll both drown before we get down river. Not to mention, you can barely stand on your own, there is no way you can hold on to a floating log."

Zuko fixed sightless eyes on her. "Right now, we don't have a choice." His face seemed to darken and his next words were forced out through clenched teeth. "I'll hold on. If they think I'm just going to roll over and die quietly, they are greatly mistaken."

The words were said with such fury that Katara had no doubts that if Zuko still had his bending abilities that his fists and arms would be wreathed in flames at this moment. It wasn't like they had much choice at this point anyway. "Fine," she conceded, "we will go down river."

Zuko gave her a twisted smile that lacked any warmth and a short bow. "If my lady will lead on . . . " He gestured outward with the hand before wrapping it once again around his ribs.

She didn't think he'd find it amusing to know that he'd gestured back the way they'd come. Katara wisely decided to keep that bit of knowledge to herself.

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><p>Arun stretched his arms wide as he ducked through the low opening of the mess tent. He was feeling good. The mine was above quota for the week and he was expecting a bonus from his employers for his efficient handling of the prisoners.<p>

He cracked his knuckles. Life was good. A smile spread across his face as he contemplated his two latest prisoners. Life was very good indeed. The Fire Nation whelp was the perfect distraction. The boy was stubborn and offered much amusement. And while Arun often wondered why the boy has been sold to him by one of his own nation, Arun knew better than to ask questions. The pouch of gold he'd received to take on the boy and Water tribe girl that was with him, was more than enough reason to accept the gift the fates had dropped at his feet.

The girl had made the deal all that sweeter. Perhaps he wouldn't wait until the shift was over to claim her. It'd been awhile since he'd had a woman with as much fire as that one.

Chuckling, he headed for the yard where he'd left the unusual pair. Not seeing them where he'd left them, he wondered if perhaps they'd already gone done into the mines.

"Nazir!" he yelled.

Nazir, his second in command, poked his head out of the supply hut a few second later.

"Did you take the Little Dragon and the Water girl down into the mines?"

Nazir spat a stream of Betel nut juice between brown stained teeth. "Not me. I haven't seen the Fire brat," he said, wiping his chin with his thumb.

Arun growled in irritation. Hiders always put work behind schedule. It took time for the guards to look for hiding prisoners. He hated hiders. When he found the two of them, he'd kill the boy this time. He didn't care how much he'd been paid to keep the boy alive. When, and if – and it was a big if – the cloaked and masked person that had sold the pair to him came back as promised, he could always claim a mining accident. Besides, as far as he was concerned, one more dead Fire Nation soldier was never a bad thing.

"Get two of the guards and search the camp. When you find the boy and the girl, bring them to me."

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><p>Zuko gave the girl a twisted smile and a short mocking bow, holding in the grunt of pain that wanted to force itself past his lips. "If my lady will lead on," he said, gesturing vaguely off to the side with his good arm.<p>

She took the hint, although he could hear her grumbling, the occasional word coming clear. Most were not complimentary of either him or his parentage. Fortunately, he was entirely too tired to either care or get angry. He was in considerably more pain that he let on. Each gasping breath sent a band of constricting fire across his ribs. His left arm was useless and hung limp; his collarbone definitely broken. His eyes were the most worrisome. He could see nothing out of his scarred eye and the vision in his remaining eye was fading to black around the edges. What sight he had was blurred, the images doubled. Dizziness and nausea rolled through him if he tried to focus on any one thing for too long.

If it weren't for the girl, he'd make his stand and die on his feet like a warrior . . . like a Prince. He'd be damned before he'd die in the dirt of an Earthbender prison mine.

With his good eye half-lidded, he watched the blur of the Water girl as she gathered up the chain that bound them, the heavy links clinking together. The sound reminded him of happier times in the palace, the sound of metal wind chimes ringing through the court gardens. Zuko knew he'd never see those gardens again. The Avatar, his only means of redemption, was dead. Zuko's honor was little more than ashes. There were only two things his remaining honor demanded of him now – return the girl to her people and find the one who'd sold him to the mine. He would accomplish both tasks before he died.

Ignoring the continued mumbling from the girl, he focused on not showing his pain as the chain was once more looped across his shoulders. He would not show his weakness.


	3. Chapter 3: The River

Hey! **Ruby of Raven** here!

A.N.

**This story was adopted from_ Caeria_, so make sure you read her first two chapters first.**

I do not own ATLA or the original idea and plot for this story or the parts of this chap that belong to it's original author.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: The River<strong>

Katara had never been so grateful to hear the sound of rushing water. She pushed through the shrub and weeds that grew alongside the river, her feet long since numb to the briars and sharp-edged stones. The bloody footprints she and Zuko had been leaving had grown darker with every step into the harsh environment. Katara was limping heavily now.

She couldn't even wipe away the sweat that ran into and stung her eyes, as she was certain that only her tight grip on Zuko kept him upright and moving. She was terrified that if he fell, she'd never be able to get him up again. She was also afraid that he just might die on her if they stopped. Zuko's ashen countenance and blood-streaked body reminded her very much of ice demons, the cursed walking dead, from her Gran-Gran's old fireside tales. That was defiantly not a good thing.

It was a beautiful river, with a waterfall and everything. Just like Zuko had described. Katara had completely forgotten about it do to only thinking about if and how she and the prince would survive the next day or not. She really didn't have time to think about the scenery and she still didn't. She needed to find a big enough log that could support her and Zuko's weight as they float down the river. Hopefully, he could at least help with getting the big piece of wood into the water.

Sadly though, the prince seemed to be in pain, but to what extent exactly she did not know. She knew he was trying hard to hide the pain from her; the proud prince wouldn't like to be thought of as weak after all. His shallow breathing, all the blood, his eyes, how he didn't seem to be able to use his left arm, and the way he stumbled and swayed when he walked all led her to believe he was in much greater pain than he led on. Still, she stayed silent.

Katara's eyes scanned the area for a log. They landed on a moss covered log, hidden partly by a shrub near the one she had just entered through. Perfect, that should get them down the river. The problem was how to get the large log into the river. She was feeble and Zuko wouldn't be of much help in his current state. She would have to do most of the work herself.

She sat Zuko gently against a tree just a foot away from the log that would be their ticket down stream, even though she knew that she may not be able to get him up again. When she did this he didn't protest like she thought he would. He's mind seemed to be else where, which was fine by Katara. She didn't need to argue with him right now, she needed to focus on getting them down the river. She just hoped she would be able to get him on the log once she got it ready to go down the stream. It scared her to think that what she'd just done may have decided their fate. Who knows how much strength she'll have left after dragging the log to the waters edge? Still knowing this, she began to drag and push the log over to the edge only a measly three feet away. By the time she got the log one third of the way into the water, her muscles already were aching horribly from the lack of nourishment and over usage. She was also panting, feeling ready to past out where she stood. Passing out was not an option until she got them somewhere deemed safe, but she didn't have much strength left to get them there.

She went over to Zuko and picked up part of the chain she had let fall to the ground and looped it around her shoulder. She then struggled to get Zuko up on his feet again, but still managed to. The chain seemed even heavier than before and so did Zuko. She kept stumbling to get to the cool water of the river only a few feet away, one time she almost fell and that would have been the end of their journey. She wouldn't have been able to get them up again.

Once at the waters edge, she moved Zuko and herself into the rushing water. She hoped it would be enough to get him moving more and help her push the log all the way into the river.

The shock of moving into the cold water revived Zuko enough that he was able to help Katara push the fallen log further out into the swift-moving current, just like she hoped. With her help and his last remaining strength, he was able to wedge himself into the tangled branches that still adorned the log. Katara watched as Zuko's one good eye slid closed. He was still conscious, but not by much and she knew that if they were going to survive she'd have to work for the both of them. Zuko would be of little help to her now. For once, though, she was rather glad of Zuko's unwavering persistence and stubborn pride. If he'd fallen before they'd got to the river, they would have been captured for sure. No way would she be able to carry an unconscious Zuko with out someone's help. A barely conscious Zuko was bad enough, but at least he could move his feet and walk a little bit while carrying at least some of his own weight.

Struggling with the log, Katara made sure that Zuko was as firmly attached as she could make him. If he slid off the log, his weight and the weight of the chain would drown them both. Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from the shore. A few seconds later, the Fire Nation prince let out a shuddering sigh and slipped once more into unconsciousness. Truthfully, she was amazed that he'd held on as long as he had.

_Captured_. Just the thought of what would happen to them if they were captured sent a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold water swirling around her. Her lips compressed into a hard line; capture was not an option.

Sitting up a little more from where she straddled the log, Katara wrapped her hand around Zuko's nearest wrist. He was all she had left; everything else was truly gone now. The tears that she'd refused to cry while they had been captured slid down her face to splash into the river. She cried for everything that was gone – sweet Aang and her stalwart brother, for the home she was sure she'd never see again, for the future of the world that had no Avatar in it, and then she cried for herself and Zuko. Finally, exhaustion catching up with her, she leaned over Zuko's slumped body and let herself rest.

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><p>"Arun! Arun!" came a voice from behind him.<p>

Arun turned around from beating on another one of his prisoners to see a panting Nazir and two of his guards. They stopped in front of him and had to take a minute to catch their breath. He made a mental note to get his guards in better shape.

"What?" he asked in an agitated voice.

"U-um… W-well… we can't-" Nazir mumbled and stuttered before he was interrupted.

"Stop stuttering and mumbling! Speak Up!" Arun yelled at Nazir. He wanted to know where the Little Dragon was and teach him a permanent lesson. He wanted the Water girl to watch him kill that little fire brat, then he would take her back to his hut and have his way with her.

Nazir and the two guards shuffled their feet nervously under his watchful gaze. Finally, Arun lost his patience and yelled," Well, get on with it!"

They all coward back in fear of their leader, but it was just the thing to get Nazir talking again. "Well Arun, we can't actually find the Fire Nation soldier or the Water Tribe girl."

"What!" he shouted in pure outrage. Arun picked Nazir up by his collar and glared at him. "Are you sure you looked everywhere because there's no way they could have escaped?" Nazir had fear evident in his brown eyes. That was something Arun was used to seeing._ Fear_, that's what got him respect. It was the only way to get what you wanted.

"We looked everywhere in the mines, their nowhere to be found," Nazir's voice sounded shaky as he spoke.

That's exactly what Arun was afraid to hear. No one ever escaped this camp. To hear someone did, made him fill with even more rage. He let go of Nazir. Once Nazir was back on the ground, he let out a sigh of relief that Arun had not killed him out of anger for the missing prisoners.

However, Arun wanted to scream out in fury, but controlled himself and just grounded his teeth and balled his fists. He couldn't let word spread to his employers that two prisoners had escaped. He could get killed for it and if other prisoners found out then they might try to escape. So instead of shouting and yelling, he told them through clenched teeth,"Get the dogs and some more guards, but don't let any of the prisoners know about the two escaped prisoners." Arun got an evil glint in his eyes. "We're going to go hunt those two down, and kill them."

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><p>A.N<p>

I hope you all know that about six of these paragraphs where written by the original author. The rest were written by me, plus I did add on and tweak some of_** Caeria**_'s paragraphs.

Hoped you liked it! Sorry for the short chapter! I promise I'll try and make them longer, but first I want to see what you guys think of it!


	4. Chapter 4: The Cave

**Chapter 4: The Cave**

_Katara was suddenly in the forest, but with no Zuko. She wondered where the prince was as she started walking. Was he dead? Did he need her help? Did Arun find him? She couldn't find any answers to her questions. Still, she walked._

_Soon, she arrived in a clearing. There where pandalilys growing everywhere in it and not a single tree or other plant among them. She walked to the center of the clearing and peered down at the pretty flowers surrounding her. Katara though of how lucky they must be, not to have to worry about anything except for maybe an occasional drought. She wished she could be as lucky as these beautiful flowers before her. They had it easy._

_Suddenly, Katara's nostrils filled with the smell of smoke. She quickly turned around to find the small clearing suddenly ablaze with fire. She could make out two shadowed figures amongst the flames. "Katara!" One of them yelled with her brother's voice. "Help Us!" the smaller one with Aang's voice screamed out to her. "Aang! Sokka!" she cried out to them. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes. She couldn't lose them; they were the only family she had left. Katara tried to move her legs to go help them, but they seemed to be glued in place. She started to pull at her legs to see if she could get them unstuck, but her attempts where in vain. Her legs simply did not move and the flames seemed to only be growing and coming closer to her._

_"Katara!" the two voices called out to her in unison. She lifted her head to see the two figures become completely engulfed by the flames. Katara started to sob and cry out in agony. That was her family that had just been taken away from her, right before her very eyes. The worst part was that she could do nothing about it nor could she stop the flames from coming to engulf her too._

_The pain of losing the young Avatar and her brother only seemed to grow as the fire got closer to her. For Katara, the fire couldn't come fast enough to claim her life. She'd rather be dead then deal with the pain of these loses. Once she was dead she wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore._

_Finally, ever so slowly, the flames of the fire swallow up Katara as she cried out in pain._

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><p>Katara woke up crying, screaming and sweating. Quickly, she stopped screaming as she took in her surroundings. She was on a log with the Fire Nation prince floating down the river. There was no clearing, no fire, no Aang, no Sokka. It seemed it was all a dream, a very real dream. Sadly, one thing that did not change in the real word was that there really was no more Aang and no more Sokka. That still didn't change, but here she at least had Zuko. He may not be the nicest person, but at least he was someone. She stopped crying at this thought. He was truly all she had left and she was probably all he had left too, family members who wanted him dead didn't really count. The prince probably felt just as alone as she did, but she knew he would never admit it because of his stupid pride.<p>

She was jostled out of her thoughts as the log hit the shore of a sandy beach in the bend of the river, probably several miles down stream from where they originally were. There was a grassy piece of land past the white sand. She decided it looked like a nice enough place to stop and start a camp. She just hoped there was some shelter to keep them dry that was more inland.

She stood up on the beach to scan the area for a form of shelter, not going any father than two feet away from the unconsciousness prince. There, partially hidden by overgrowth, was a small cave. Her eyes lit up with hope at the sight of it. That would be their shelter; maybe they could hide in it for at least a little while until they were stronger.

Katara turned back to Zuko who was still on the log. She was going to have to get him to the cave, but at least she had some renewed energy from her much needed rest. The cave was up a small hill about a good thirty feet pass the small beach. Then she got an idea. Zuko and her should exit the river a little farther down stream so Arun would have a harder time finding their hideout. With this idea in her head, Katara got back onto the log and pushed them off of the shore.

* * *

><p>"Nazir!" Arun shouted to his second in command. "Are the dogs ready?"<p>

Nazir, who was helping situate the dog's collars along with some other guards, jumped at the sudden loud noise of his leader's voice. "Uh, yes. They are ready, Arun," he answered.

He smirked with evil satisfaction. Soon enough, he would have the Little Dragon and the Fire Nation whore back in his grasp. So what if the girl was pretty and feisty? No one ever escapes his prison unless they were dead. So, he'll just have to make her dead along with the Little Dragon. Just thinking about crushing and killing that Fire Nation soldier brought a cruel smile onto his features, he couldn't wait to find him. He'd kill him first just to watch the Water Tribe girl's reaction.

With that cruel smile still on his face, he told Nazir, "Good. Let's go find those prisoners."

* * *

><p>Twenty or so yards down river, Katara stopped the log on the rivers edge. She pulled the prince out of the fallen logs twisted branches and laid him down on the ground by the river. He looked slightly better than he did before she fell asleep. Some of the blood that had dried on him had been washed away into the river. This just reminded her that she would have to dress his wounds as soon as she got them both up into the cave.<p>

Katara turned back to the log. She needed to get rid of their method of transportation. The log would just be a clue leading Arun to finding them. Katara supposed she'd just have to push it back into the river and let it float down stream; there really was no other option besides that one. Before she did this, she ripped off a piece of her shirt and stuck it onto one of the logs many branches. Then she pushed the log into the river and watched it float away until it was out of sight. Arun would think she and Zuko had exited father down the river. She smiled at how clever she was. The log was sure to throw them off their track.

Turning back to Zuko, she sighed. The prince showed no signs of waking up and helping her. She would have to carry and maybe even drag him all the way up into the small cave that was more than twenty yards away.

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

Hey!** Ruby of Raven **here!

Once again, sorry for the short chap. There was just so much feedback from my last chap that told me to update soon. So, I did. Plus, I felt the chap. needed to end here.

The next chap. will have some Zutara action in it! So, **Review People!**

I do not own the plot line for this story, the original author does. I also do not own ATLA.


	5. Chapter 5: Needs

**Chapter 5: Needs**

The cave let in a couple of rays of bright sunlight into the small cave, illuminating Katara and Zuko's forms on the cave floor. Katara had woken up to these bright morning rays. She had found herself curled up around the prince keeping them at least a little bit warmer with each others body heat.

The night before, she had dressed his wounds to the best of her abilities after she had dragged them up into the cave. Then she curled up around Zuko and quickly fell asleep do to her lack of energy.

Now, she was awake and Zuko was still unconscious, this worried her. Would Zuko ever wake up? Yes, he would wake up, Katara was sure of that. The Fire Nation prince was just tired and needed rest. Yet, as she looked upon him, she noticed how sickly thin and pale he had become from eating and drinking too little during his time in the mines and not seeing the sun for just as long. She supposed she didn't look much better than him. Arun didn't feed them much or give them much water, and when he did it was most likely table scraps from him and his guard's meals and dirty water that was hardly any good at all.

That left one thing in her mind; she needed to get them some food and water or they'd die. It wouldn't matter if Arun found them; they would die before he could get to them and find there bodies.

Katara looked around the cave to see if anything eatable was near by so she wouldn't have to drag Zuko to much to get them food. There was dirt, rocks, and insects. Some water was dripping down from the ceiling where ratbats where hanging from and some bearrats ran by occasionally, but mostly staid in the shadows. This was rather fortunate; they wouldn't starve as long as she was able to kill one of the little animals that lived in the cave, she knew how to hunt and kill animals from watching her older brother do so many times. Although she never actually went out and did it before, her brother had explained it to her well enough that she was confident she could do it with out anybodies help.

Water was also not a problem since the cave was up the hill from a river; the real problem was that she would have to carry Zuko down with her to go get the water. She let out a long, slow breath; she might as well get started on the hunting while she had some renewed energy.

* * *

><p>The fire was warm and blazing as Katara cooked some bearrat meat over its flames as the sun started it's decent and the moon rose to take it's place in the sky. She would heat the water she was able to get from the river after she was done cooking the meat. When she got done with that, she would make the meat, water, and some plants used for spices and medicines that she found, into a soup.<p>

Katara had found a single bowl for soup on the beach while getting water. It was brown with no carvings in it and it was a bit chipped here and there, but there were no holes in it so it would not leak out the soup. She was making soup because they wouldn't be able to stomach anything else and because the unconscious prince needed to eat and drink something that he wouldn't choke on in the state he was in.

Later that evening, Katara help Zuko swallow the soup she had made. He was still in the same state he had been an hour ago and did not seem likely to change his state anytime soon. He was really out of it and this made Katara only worry more about his health. If she lost him then she would be all alone with no real friends or family around and Katara couldn't stand to lose any one else. Her heart ached from just thinking about being left completely alone.

* * *

><p>As days past by for the two and Zuko's condition only got worse.<p>

He's awareness flickered in and out. He wanted so much to just stop; to lie down and simply sleep. He hurt. Pain had become his whole world. Two things kept him moving now - responsibility to the girl and revenge for whoever had put him here. With each step, he wrapped the pain around himself and vowed that those responsible would pay.

Finally the pain that was rapped so tightly around him eased up enough to let the young prince close his eyes more easily and dream, but the dreams were not peaceful in anyway. They were dark and full of horrible memories that caused him physical and emotional pain. The pain of those awful memories only added on to the pain he was already in. Every dream ended up with him screaming or waking up screaming or maybe both, he might have even cried.

* * *

><p>Zuko's screaming rang throughout the cave as his eyes shot open. He was panting and sweating. His golden eyes where open but unfocused on anything. Katara wiped away the sweat on his forehead with a bit of blue cloth from her shirt. This had become routine for Katara. She would get water whenever the prince was in deep slumber or unconsciousness. Then she would kill another bearrat, make them some more soup and in between all that she would tend to the sick prince and do what ever else was needed.<p>

Today seemed to be no different. So far Zuko had woken up screaming and maybe even crying a little bit and then fell back into his unconscious/sleeping state, now he was awake again but probably not for much longer. That's what Katara thought until Zuko's eyes actually focused on her for the first time in days and he opened his mouth to speak. "Mom?"

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

This is **Ruby of Raven** here**!**

Sorry for the short chapters and sorry for not updating any of my stories for the longest time! Sorry that there wasn't as much Zutara in this chapter as I wanted, trust me, the next chapter will have lots more Zutara in it! I promise! I was just so busy! I had softball, homework, family events, stories that where updated on the site that I just had to read, I also got a little writers block on where to go with this story and start the next chapter, and... **Today's my birthday**! I'm actually shocked I was even able to even post it today.

Don't expect any updates on any of my other stories until after Sunday because I'm going on a choir trip to Chicago! So I will definitely start updating when I get back! :)


	6. Chapter 6: Hallucinations

**A.N.**

**Hey Ruby of Raven is back!**

Sorry for the very long chapter delay, I had computer issues. My computer totally crashed. What I had written for this chapter and the whole plot outline for this story was then gone. But thank God my mom's friend at work was able to finally get all the documents off of it. So now I can continue writing this awesome story for you all to enjoy! :)

Again, didn't have time to get to the awesome Zutara part that I have planned into this chapter, but it will be in the next chapter for sure. Trust me.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Hallucinations<strong>

Did she hear him right? Did he really just call her 'Mom'? She did sometimes act like a mother to Aang and Sokka, and she was taking care of Zuko like how a mom might. So is that why? Maybe he's hallucinating; he does have a fever after all.

"Mom! I thought I lost you forever!" the sick prince cried out as he practically flung himself at her. She nearly fell backwards at the impact. He was hugging her and crying into her shoulder much like how a little boy would.

"Um…" Katara tried to think of what to say to the firebender crying in her arms. Finally, she settled on saying, "It's okay Zuko. Now just tell me why you thought you'd never see me again." She felt very uncomfortable saying those words, but she wanted to play along with his hallucination and find out what this was all about.

He lifted his head from her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Don't you remember? You came to me one night saying that you were leaving. Then I never saw you again." His golden eyes filled with more tears as they trailed down his face one by one. Never had she seen Zuko look so young, innocent, scared, and sad like this. It made Katara's eyes start to tear up as well. He had lost his mother just like her. She knew that pain all to well and apparently so did this banished prince. She would have never guessed.

So she held him even closer to her and let him get all of his tears out. An hour passed and the prince became dead weight to her. He had fallen back into unconsciousness. Gently, she laid him down on the cave floor and watched him as he slept.

How could she have anything in common with him, the Prince of the Firenation? What really happened to his mother? Why did he never see her again? And what were the reasons for her to disappear from this poor boys life? She had no idea what the answers to these questions might be but maybe Zuko did. Maybe he could answer her questions, at the very least, the ones about himself and his mother. She didn't think she could ask him why, exactly, they would have anything in common with each other.

Hours then passed as Katara sat and continue to watch Zuko sleep.

* * *

><p>It started again. The dreams, oh how he wished he could just have a dreamless sleep. He was already in enough pain but the universe seemed to hate him and liked to torture him to no end.<p>

He could feel himself tossing and turning in his sleep. '_Go away, Go away!' _he thought as his nightmares continued to come. It was like they never ended, never ceased. _'Leave me alone!' _

His eyes shot open and he sat blot right up on the ground, screaming.

* * *

><p>"Aaahhh!" Zuko was awake and screaming again.<p>

_'I hope he's not delusional again,'_ she thought as she scooted closer to the ex-prince on the cave floor. "Zuko, what's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

His eyes shot over to where she was and as soon as they landed on her he became terrified. "Dad? What are you doing here?" Zuko started to move backwards, farther away from her, towards the wall.

Dad? Really? She's the farthest thing from that monster. Even Ozai's own child is scared of him. Probably, because he so cruel, he is the guy who's running this whole war after all. Katara's not even remotely like him, is she? Sure she could be vengeful at times when she was faced with someone who was similar to the man who killed her mother or tried to hurt her friends, but that should be expected. That doesn't mean she should be compared or thought of as that monster, right?

Katara shook her head a little to erase those thoughts. She looked back at Zuko who was still cowering in fear, backed up against the wall of the dirty cave. "It's okay…." she paused, trying to think of how she should play along with this hallucination. "…son. I'm not here to hurt you."

He tilted his head to the side like a wolfhound pup. "You're not?"

She shook her head with a small smile on her lips. "I'm not." Zuko shivered.

* * *

><p>Ozai smiled a real smile. Zuko hadn't seen him do that in so long. It was creepy beyond belief, he shivered. Oh how he would just like to run away from him. It's so obvious that it's all just an act. If he let his guard down Ozai would no doubt hurt him again. "No, I won't fall for your act," Zuko told him, digging his nails into the dirt of the wall behind him.<p>

His father looked a bit taken aback by this. "Believe me, it's no act."

The prince's eyes narrowed at his father. If he wasn't here to hurt him, then what else can he be here for? There's no other reason, except… No it can't be the reason he's here, can it? "Are you here to end my banishment?" he found himself asking.

"Uuuhhh….." the Fire Lord seemed speechless and embarrassed by his question. That never happens.

Hope filled Zuko at that moment. "You are, aren't you? You have to! I've been banished for three long years looking for the Avatar, just like you told me to. I haven't caught him but I'm telling you, I'm ready to come back. Please take me back. I need to come back." He hated himself for begging, but could you blame him? He's been gone from his real home for so long. The prince loved his palace life, minus his sister, his father, and most of the other nobles, but still. "Please father, I-I beg of you." Did his voice just crack and is he crying over this? Zuko knew he should get a grip on himself before his father thought even less of him but he found that he couldn't.

"Zuko," his father said, putting a hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him. He shook it off, his father comforting him was even more uncharacteristic than smiling.

The Banish Prince didn't know what he should say next to his father and on top of that, his head had started pounding like a drum. He pinched the bridge of his nose but it did nothing to help end it like it normally did. Black spots started to cloud his vision as the pounding in his head increased. Zuko groaned and tried to steady himself against the wall as he started to sway. He closed his eyes but it only made everything worse. Now his stomach didn't feel right and he felt himself starting to sweat. "Zuko!" his father's voice seemed so far away when he knew Ozai to be right in front of him.

He opened his eyes one more time and saw someone there other than his father. What? That makes no sense. Where did he go? Why is this girl here? He knew he recognized her from somewhere but he couldn't think of where at the moment, or think much at all for that matter. He decided that he didn't care, anyone's better than Ozai. With that decided, he passed out.

* * *

><p>Zuko laid there in a heap on the floor in front of Katara. '<em>So that's why he's been hunting Aang<em>,' Katara thought, looking at the unconscious princes form. If only he would get better so she could ask him some questions about his past.

She scooted closer to him again and laid a hand on his forehead. "Ow!" she yelped and pulled her hand away from his burning forehead. He was way too hot yet she could see he was shivering like it was freezing cold in here. She knew she had no medicine to give him and no blankets either to help bring down the fever. So she curled up around him like she had every other night, hoping to make him warmer while he supplied heat for her as well because without each other's warmth they would both die. She knew then that if she had done what he'd said and left him there to die in the forest she would have surely died as well.


	7. Chapter 7: Caught Up

**A.N.**

Hey! **Ruby of Raven **here**!**

Sorry for not updating sooner. I've been busy, but now it's done (even if it is still just a bit short, it's still something). Plus, this chapter has some much needed Zutara in it! So** Read and Review! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Caught Up<strong>

"Hey, look over here!"

"Did you look over here?" A bark was heard and the same voice yelled, "Shut Up! You'll tip em' off, damn mutt."

Someone snorted, another one laughed. "As if they don't know we're coming already."

"Your voice surely tipped them off."

"Shut up you idiots. Concentrate on finding that Fire Brat and that Water Whore," ordered a familair voice.

Katara's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, looking around for the source of the voices. It sounded like Arun and his men. They've finally caught up to them. Wait, it sounds like they're above them. Looking up at the ceiling of the cave, she listened for them.

"Well, they're not in the bushes," one said.

Another one said, "Not in the tree."

"How many more bushes do we have to look for thee?" A third voice asked. Laugher sounded from the three of them.

"You idiots! Stop fooling around. Nazir, if they so much as udder another stupid comment, come get me. I'm going to have a look around the other side of this hill."

"Yes Sir," a voice, Nazirs', said.

Her eyes widened. They were above them and Arun was coming to check out the rest of the hill. '_Relax'_, Katara told herself. _'As long as she and the prince stayed quite, they won't find them.'_ Sadly, that's when Zuko started to act up again with his delusions.

"Mmm... M-mom? Wh-wha?... Don't... Da?...," he said, clearly not fully awake but clearly very loud.

She glared at him. "Ssshhh!"

"Gat... Av-atar cap.. ture...," he continued, still lying on the floor half conscious.

Eyes darting from the entrance of the cave to back to Zuko, she whispered, "Shut up! Do you want to die?"

"Azu.. sop... You're hurting... m-me..." He winced and started to let out a cry of pain.

"Oh La!" Katara whispered in panic, eyes darting toward the entrance again. She could hear footsteps coming around the side of the hill. She knew she had to do something quick or they were dead. "I can't believe I'm going to do this," she said to herself as she closed her eyes. Then she smashed her lips against his, silencing him.

Oh! Why did she do this? It was horrible, mainly because she was actually enjoying it. She couldn't explain it. Just the way his warm lips felt against her own and it didn't hurt that he was great kisser. Oh how did he get to be so good at it? She felt inexperienced compared to him, but he didn't seem to mind considering that he was kissing her back. And- '_Get a grip Katara!' _her mind screamed, but she found she couldn't. She was drowning in complete and udder bliss, until...

"Mai," he moaned into her.

Katara's eyes snapped open and she pulled herself away from the Fire Prince. Pulling away from him took way more effort than it should have. She pushed that thought aside and looked back up at the ceiling, noticing the absence of voices. "They're gone," she said with a sigh of relief.

"Mai," Zuko moaned, reaching for her.

She grimaced and scooted farther away from him, the chains that connected her to him dragging as she did so. He only kissed her because he thought she was some girl named Mai. She must be his girlfriend, one he left back home in the FireNation. She should have known.

* * *

><p>"Mai." She was here, she was here and she was kissing him. Now she's gone, just like the rest of his old life. Agni, he miss her. Why'd she have to leave so soon? Why?<p>

Zuko couldn't help but dwell on the matter for as long as he could until the pain consumed him once more and he was out cold, again.

* * *

><p>What was she suppose to do now? She can't start a fire because it might attract Arun and his mens' attention. She also can't go down to the river to get them any more water or fish. It would leave them both out in the open to long. The chances of them seeing her and the prince were to great. The only thing she could do was use the rest of their water sparingly and have both of them eat whatever was left of the fish she caught yesterday as sushi. Katara just hope Zuko would wake up enough not to choke on it.<p>

* * *

><p>The next time Zuko woke up a bit, Katara propped him up against the wall and held his head up so he was less likely to choke on the food.<p>

He looked at her strangely as she held up a piece of sushi. "Wha-" Katara popped it into his mouth, much to his surprise. Yet, he didn't choke on it and that was what mattered.

"Okay, Zuko. Open up again," Katara told him, grabbing another piece of sushi to give him.

He shook his head. She could tell that he immediately regretted doing that because he held his head with one hand and groaned. Katara moved his hand away and put another piece of sushi into his mouth. Again, he didn't choke on it, but he did growl at her after he was done swallowing it.

Great, now he was mad at her. Oh well. It's not like it's much different than how she felt when she heard him moan another women's name. "What's wrong?" she asked him, a little to sweetly.

The scarred teen opened his mouth to retort but, again, Katara popped another piece into his mouth, effectively shutting him up for another minute or so.

Katara smirked. She was beginning to enjoy this.


	8. Chapter 8: Blanket

**A.N.**

**Ruby of Raven is back! **Finally!

Sorry for the long wait. I have a ton of excuses I could feed you, but we all know you guys don't care why I didn't. You just care that I do update. I can understand that, so I'm not mad at you guys who are probably mad that I didn't update in months. Although, I think you'll agree with me that it was worth the wait.

Is it just me, or have Katara and Zuko been in that cave for way too long? It can't just be me. So, it's time to finish up the cave action in this chapter and get this story moving forward! That means…

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: <strong>**Blanket**

Days passed by again as they did before Arun and his men almost found them; quiet and uneventful. Sadly, it all came to an end with a big crash.

The day had started out plesent enough, Zuko still had a slight temp and was pasted out as she attempted to start up a fire that she had only begun to let herself start using again. Then came the crash of this whole peacefulness.

"W-what? Where am I?" the prince mumbled in the darkness of the cave.

Katara ignored him, thinking he was starting up another one of his delusions. She was wrong.

"Hey! I was talking to you, Peasant!" he yelled at her.

She stiffined. 'He's awake? But he has a temperature. How is that?' She couldn't connect the dots to this new found puzzle. It seemed like it would be obvious, but Katara couldn't bring herself to hope that it was the answer. Her eyes darted over to the teenager who sat a little deeper in the cave than her. He was awake. Oh joy. "My names Katara," she snapped, "and if it isn't obvious, we're in a cave."

The spoiled prince growled at her and snapped back, "Water peasant, if it isn't obvious, I can't see a damn thing!" He wasn't wrong about that; she could barely see her hand when she put it in front of her face.

"Well, then adjust!" she snapped back.

"There is no adjusting, if you haven't noticed!" Again, he was right, but Katara would never tell him that.

"Then light a fire! Oh, wait. You can't!" she all but yelled at him. "Besides, you're probably still to sick to even collect fire wood."

She could just feel the dirty look he was giving her. "For your information, I'm not sick."

Katara rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Zuko wouldn't even see it. "Let me check then if you're so sure."

To Zuko it sounded like a challenge. "Fine, then check." He heard shuffling coming closer to him and then felt a cool hand rest on his forehead. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, her hand felt good on his forehead.

"You're still pretty warm," came her smug reply after she removed her hand. She was probably smirking at him, cocky, little peasant.

"Yeah, well a firebender's temperature runs hotter than "normal," came his automatic response.

Katara raised an eyebrow at this, again, not that the angry prince would see. "But you can't firebend anymore, just like I can't waterbend."

He must have realized this as well because he started laughing all of the sudden; although, that was pretty out of character for the crabby prince.

Seeming to notice her confusion, Zuko stopped laughing and went to explain himself. "Don't you see? That means that the effect the mine seemed to have had on us is only temporary."

_Temporary?_ Only _temporary_? Will she really be able to bend again? She sure hoped so.

He continued, "Did you even notice that the more time we seemed to spend down there the more we lost the ability to bend?"

Katara blinked in surprise. He was right. She remembered when she first got there…

_She'd just woken up in a fit of coughs to finding herself in a little tent, if you could call it that. It was so small and dirty; she wondered how she even managed to fit in the damp, closed space. Somehow she managed to stumble out of the small thing only to be met with another round of horrible coughs. She seemed to be having some kind of allergic reaction to something in the air, but the only thing there was dust, lots and lots of dust._

_Another round of coughs shook her and she landed on her knees, staring at the ground as her vision blurred and the metal clanking she heard before became very distant to her ears. During that time, two strong hands picked her up and put her in chains, chains chaining her to a certain pouting prince of the Fire Nation. One who seemed to be suffering from the same illness as her._

_Each round of coughs that came to them left them weaker and weaker as there bending started to leave them, not that they noticed it was even happening until they tried bending that night._

Now, it all made sense. "The dust in the mine took our bending away," she said more to herself than to Zuko.

"Exactly, the more we breathed it in the more we lost our bending. If we were down there much longer I have no doubt we would have lost our bending for good," he said matter-of-factly.

Rolling her eyes, again, at "his know it all" attitude, Katara shuffled back to her side of the cave to sleep, leaving the fire she was trying to start unstarted. However, as she tried to fall asleep without Zuko's body heat she found that she couldn't actually do that to well. Let's face it, a cave is cool and damp day and night, but it's even worst during the nighttime.  
>She shivered under the rags she called clothes. They offered her no real warmth unlike a certain someone's body did.<p>

Two days later, the observant Zuko finally noticed during the light rays of the morning that the girl he was chained to was shivering. The peasant, he realized, had been shivering during the night ever since he got over his sickness, maybe longer.

Feeling his gaze on her, Katara opened her eyes. "What?" she snapped.

"You're shivering," he simply stated.

Katara opened her mouth to respond with a witty remark, but the arrogant prince cut her off. "You've been shivering during the night ever since I recovered from being sick."

Again, before she could respond he cut her off, "You couldn't have survived as long as you have without something else keeping you warm. You would have frozen to death or something."

All Katara could get herself to say was, "Or something?"

His golden eyes turned hard. Clearly, he wanted an answer, not a question, as to why she was still alive if she was basically freezing to death every night.

"Well…" Crap, how was she suppose to get out of answering this without it coming out completely embarrassing? "The temperature started dropping and-"

"Bull! That's Bull Shit! BULL SHIT!" he roared. He wanted an answer now, and for Agni sake's he was going to get an answer.

She seemed shocked by his sudden outburst, but he didn't give a damn. Yeah, he was pissed and by the look on her face, he could tell, she knew it, too.

Katara sighed. "You want the truth?"

He scoffed. "What do you think?" he sneered.

She glared at him with her ocean blue eyes. "Fine, I've been using you as a "blanket" to keep warm. Lying with you was much better than lying alone in this shitty cave! It was like basking in the sun! There, you happy with that answer?" she finally finished glaring at him still, daring him to ask anymore questions.

To say he was shocked would be correct, but he quickly recovered from it. "You used me as some "blanket?" Glaring, he said, "I didn't give you permission to even touch me! What made you think that was even okay? Oh, wait. You didn't think at all!" With that said the Fire prince turned his back to her and started making a fire for their breakfast.

That night Katara woke up from a dream she couldn't even recall. Why'd she even wake up from it was beyond her. Although she couldn't recall it, she knew it wasn't a nightmare.

A warm breath tickled her neck, her eyes widened. It was then she noticed the warm arms that were wrapped around her that could only belong to one person. That must have been the reason she woke up.

Smiling to herself, she snuggled into his body some more and drifted off to sleep.

When morning came, Katara woke up to find Zuko asleep on the other side of the cave at the end of the chain like he'd never moved at all, but Katara knew better. She also knew better than to tell him that she knew of this small act of "kindness." It might stop him from being her "blanket."

Half an hour later, Zuko awoke to the smell of food cooking as well as the sound of Katara humming. _Humming?_

His eyes shot wide open and he quickly sat up looking at the scene before him. The Water peasant was smiling as she hummed and cooked some meat over a small fire. What he couldn't understand was why she was even humming. He asked her exactly that.

She replied with a shrug of her shoulders and didn't say anything more than a cheerful, "Because I want to."

He didn't really buy it, but said, "Whatever." Then he slumped against the wall, looking out at the cave entrance deciding to lose himself in his thoughts. Naturally, those thoughts strayed to the girl he was chained to. They strayed, more specifically, to what she said last night. How laying next to him was like basking in the sun.

_'Well,'_ he thought, _'lying next to her was like laying in the shade during a warm, summer day.'_


	9. Chapter 9: Moving On

**A.N. Ruby of Raven** here!

I'm sorry guys! It has been way too long since I've updated any of my Zutara fics. You all deserve an update for any and all of my stories you're still interested in no matter how bad I think some of them are. It just sucks that I'm not on here as much with the intent to write. It's hard for me to get myself to sit down and write Zutara fics like I used to. It's insane since you all know how much I love Zuko. Zutara was the second shipping I ever fell in love with, the first being Drakken and Shego.

I hope there are still people out there reading this. If there is, which there has to be some of you guys still around, I thank you for waiting for more of this. I love you guys! And don't think I've forgotten about all you anonymous reviewers that have been letting me know that some readers are still out there. Thank you for that and pressuring me into getting my ass back here to write. I needed that extra push. ;D

So, without further ado, here is the next installment of Blood and Tears.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Moving On<strong>

It'd been three days since Zuko had found Katara humming. She'd since stopped because no one can continue humming forever, much to Zuko's relief.

During those three days, things in the cave between them were relatively good with only Zuko's occasional outburst. For the most part they both kept to themselves, the cave being silent most of the time. Obviously, one of them was bound to break the silence and actually start a real conversation with the other.

"Hey, Water Tribe," the prince said, sitting by their small fire after they had finished up eating lunch.

She rolled her eyes from where she sat opposite of him. "I told you, my name is Katara."

"Uh..." He looked momentarily taken aback. He had never really thought to start calling her by her real name after all they'd been through. Calling her by other names were so much easier for him. He sighed, giving into the fact that maybe she deserved to be called by her real name. "Fine, Katara..."

The waterbender looked pleased and sent him a small smile.

Zuko cleared his throat, adverting his gaze so he wouldn't have to acknowledge her giving him that look. "Anyways, I was thinking... Maybe we could get out of here. You know? And go down the river again... make it to a town, get some new clothes... sleep in an actual bed... take a nice warm bath..."

She was silent for several moments, thinking it over. It was a very tempting idea, she must admit. They were both pretty filthy in their rags they called clothes, and it'd be great not to have to sleep on the cold floor every night. "But, what about your injuries? Are you sure it's safe for you to be up and around?"

The blue eyed girl had done a great job of cleaning his wounds and dressing them up. Most damages to his head had seemed to have healed up nicely. However, his eyes weren't completely at a hundred percent. His one scarred eye, he found, was still hard to see out of. What he could see out of it was blurry, but at least his other eye was able to fully recover after some much needed rest. So, perhaps it might just take it little longer for his scarred eye's vision to completely come back. Then there was still the matter of his still healing ribs, arm, and collarbone, all of which were broken by Arun. Zuko wasn't too worried about these injuries. Sure, they still hurt, but they were healing and the prince was doing a good job at ignoring any major pain they caused him anyway. Besides, he doubted any of these still healing injuries would hinder his ability to walk since that nasty bruise on his leg was all healed up.

"It's as safe as it's going to get," he told her.

She nodded, a smile starting for form on her face. "Alright then." After all, she was tired of being stuck in this cave all the time. "We'll leave right now while it's still light out."

The prince let a slight smile appear on his face in response. "Good."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure that log is big enough for the both of us?" Katara asked skeptically upon seeing the one Zuko had fished out of the river.<p>

He glared at her, holding the log in place for her to get on as he stood in the current. "Of course I'm sure. If it's not to your liking, though, by all means, go and find us a different one."

She sighed, trying to contain her anger. "You know that's not what I meant. All I was saying is that it's a bit small. That's all."

"Duly noted, and I don't care. Now get on," he ordered.

She huffed before getting on their small raft, looking pointedly away from him. "Why aren't we moving yet?"

Zuko nearly growled at her behavior. "Just give it a minute," he managed to tell her through gritted teeth. He then quickly hoisted himself onto the log, causing Katara's end to lift up out of the water a good few inches before it splashed back down.

She whipped around to face him, her face dripping wet. "You did that on purpose you little-" She was jerked forward as Zuko, with one strong leg, pushed against the shore to get them on their way.

"Oops," he said with a smirk. Katara looked about ready to kill him.

* * *

><p>It was dark and cold out that night. They hadn't seen any towns by the river at all and Katara was freezing, trying to huddle up on the log as much as possible. She was also still miserable in her damp clothes and bored. <em>Very<em> bored, and curious about Zuko's earlier intentions.

She fought the shivers that wracked her body, trying to _will_ warmth into her frozen limbs as she asked, "Why did you come to my rescue?"

"C-can we not have this con-conversation?" Zuko snapped, his patience long since gone. His aggrieved tone would have been much more affective if his own teeth hadn't been chattering.

"I know why you don't like me. It's my fault we were captured. If I hadn't tried to distract those men away from Aang and Sokka, and hadn't run into you while you were wondering around in the forest looking for food... none of this would have happened... That's why I don't understand why you'd stand up to Arun for me. You don't owe me anything, you hate my guts. I don't understand you."

Zuko ignored her, his face twisted into a scowl. Katara sighed and settled into the tense silence that stretched between them, which is why she was so surprised when Zuko spoke.

"I-I don't hate you...," his eyes were downcast, "or, at the very least, not enough to wish that Asshole had his way with you." The prince's golden eyes got a far-away look in them as he continued on. "My mother... was once in love with my father... after Azula'd been born, though... their relationship changed and-" His gaze locked with hers, allowing her to see the pain and sorrow inside of their golden pools. "No one deserves that."

She couldn't meet his eyes for very long after that confession and had to look away. "Do you know who sold us to the prison mine?" she asked, changing the topic of conversation. The other topic made her uncomfortable just like that look in his eyes.

He rubbed at his arms, trying to force heat back into them. "Azula."

"Who?" His bitter statement didn't make much sense to her.

"Azula, my little sister. She's one of the only people I know who would sell one of their own siblings into slavery." He let himself glare out into the darkness, not allowing himself to see her reaction.

"You mean she was the one with the mask on calling all the shots?"

"Unfortunately."

_"You there! Get the prisoners out for inspection!" the masked woman ordered one of her underlings. They were all dressed in black with matching black cloaks, even their leader. The only thing that set her apart from the rest was the way she carried herself and the red mask that covered half her face only leaving her mouth to be seen_

_"Yes, Ma'ma," the worker said with a small bow in her direction before getting into the cart and dragging the gagged and bound Fire Prince and Water Tribe girl out of it. He had them stand if front of Arun for examination. The built man then walked in tight circles around them, examining them like cattle. He took his time doing so, eying up the girl perhaps a little too much._

_"Will you take them?" the masked figure asked impatiently._

_The man smirked, nodding. "Of course. I'd be a fool not to for the amount you're offering. So many gold pieces just for a Fire Nation soldier and a Water Tribe wench, and all I've gotta do is keep them alive till you get back. No worries. You've got yourself a deal," he told her, extending his hand for her to shake._

_She took it after a moment, only to pull him close to her so she could hiss threatenly at him, "You'd better keep to your end of the deal. I'd be _very_ unhappy should anything go amiss."_

_Arun nodded slowly in agreement. "Yes, I understand." She released his hand and backed away from him, preparing to leave just as quickly as she had come. "If I may ask before you go, though," the woman paused in her steps, "why sell me one of your own people?"_

_She smirked back at him. "Personal reasons." And then she and her men were gone back into the blackening woods as the sun set, leaving Arun and his men with two brand new prisioners._


End file.
